Lesser of Two Evils
by justagirl8225
Summary: Mistrusting of Katherine, Elena decides to deal with the lesser of two evils.  disregards Jonas and Luca's attempt to help Elijah.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **if I owned this- Elijah would be a series regular. This completely ignores the attempts of Jonas and Luca to help Elijah.. and well, hm. Maybe more of a replacement to "The House Guest" but obviously recognizing Katherine's return

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What she's about to do is utterly stupid, and she's fully aware of this, but she's going to go ahead and do it anyway; she's gone this far so she might as well go all the way, right?

She didn't know if they would forgive her or understand, but her mind was made up.

Elena paced at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, knowing that at any moment, Damon or Stefan could return from their little outing with Katherine.

Katherine's appearance and insistence on helping had fueled Elena's determination to do what she was about to do… or rather, to undo what she had done; the slim brunette peering briefly through the door that was separating her from Elijah's dormant body.

Right now, in the grand scheme of things, Elijah was the lesser of two evils. And unlike Katherine, at least Elena knew where she stood with Elijah.

Maybe.

Biting her lower lip, worrying the soft flesh, Elena realized that there was a distinct possibility that Elijah would kill her the moment she removed the dagger from his immobile body.

A dagger that she was responsible for putting in him, no less.

Elena could still see the worry on his face, the urgency in his voice- and dare she even think- compassion? Elijah wasn't easy to read, his charismatic, cool and collected façade concealing a ruthless monster. But when she had plunged that knife into her stomach, his mask had cracked just enough for her to glimpse a sliver of humanity.

Elena hoped that she could still appeal to that one shred, taking a deep breath and willing her heart to stop beating so erratically as she finally ventured into the cell.

Alternating between praying to whatever deity might listen and offering apologies (though if they were for the Salvatore's, her family or the Original- she didn't know), Elena knelt beside Elijah's motionless body.

Closing her eyes as she grasped the handle of the dagger, Elena pulled, her eyes opening on their own accord it seemed; liquid chocolate orbs captivated by the way Elijah began to return to his normal (and otherworldly) state.

And then, just as quickly as she was sitting- a breath released when Elijah started to move- Elena found herself pinned between the wall and the Original.

**TBC**

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Note: this is my first venture into the fandom- a short start but should hopefully pick up speed soon enough. thank you for taking the time to give this a look.


	2. Chapter 2

Barely suppressed rage was evident in Elijah's eyes causing Elena to truly know fear and taste death. Though he made no move to encircle her throat or even for her heart, the fragile human posed no physical threat to the Original and the only hope she could have had (the very dagger that had put him out of commission in the first place) was lying on the ground.

"…I can explain," Elena finally managed to speak, voice barely above a whisper.

"I do not require an explanation," Elijah replied calmly, features schooled save for the visible traces of anger in his dark eyes. "But I should remind you, Elena, that you have nothing to negotiate with." An eyebrow arched minutely, "your previous deception negated all prior deals."

The brunette gulped, "Katherine… Katherine's out of the tomb."

"I fail to see how this is any of my concern."

"She's trying to help," Elena lowered her gaze to the floor, "she's with Damon and Stefan—"

"Are you worried for your precious Stefan?" Elijah questioned with the slightest of sneers. "Or perhaps for that fool, Damon?"

Elena smiled ruefully, "I'm sorry for what they did to you," cautiously she looked up, "for what I did to you."

On the surface Elijah remained unaffected, "your apologies matter little to me." His face moved marginally, the distance between their bodies practically nonexistent. "Were you hoping for a more merciful death at my hands?"

"You still want to defeat Klaus," Elena said as composed as possible. "And I still want to help."

Suspicion leaked into his eyes, "truly? Or is it that you do not wish to assist Katerina?"

"I don't trust her," the reply came swiftly, laced with thinly disguised hatred.

"But you trust me?" Clearly amused, Elijah's lips twitched into the beginnings of a smirk. "Surely you cannot be that naïve, Elena."

Elena met his gaze, chin set defiantly, "you've been upfront and I know where I stand with you."

Elijah remained silent, "and what of the moonstone?" His eyes narrowed just marginally enough, "Do not attempt to deceive me." The index finger of his right hand hooked into chain of her necklace, the Original giving one meaningful tug.

"Damon has it," she said without hesitation.

He made a light noise of disapproval, but still far too elegant to be called a grunt. "A trifle," Elijah finally said, taking two steps back, his gaze moving at leisure over the slip of a human girl in front of him. "Your precious loved ones… unless I can be convinced otherwise, will die by my hand and soon."

"But you—"

"Our deal became null and void the moment you took it upon yourself to take part in their plan."

Elena drew her plump lower lip between her teeth, drawing Elijah's attention there as well. "I'll go with you, wherever else it is that you need to go."

"You speak as though you would have had a choice, otherwise."

"The diaries," Elena blurted, "The Gilbert Diaries that were at the lake house. I can give you those."

"I could just as easily take them when I retrieve the moonstone."

"But there has to be something," Elena cried, nearly on the verge of begging.

Elijah inclined his head, focusing alternately between the way her teeth worried her lip and the oh so tempting vein that was drawing him in like a siren's song.

With one foot already teetering dangerously over the edge, Elena took another fateful step, unclasping the necklace from her person. The action brought Elijah's eyes back to hers, Elena then removing her phone from her pocket and holding the item out to the Original.

"If this is supposed to be a peace offering…"

"This is my last link to Stefan, Damon, Jenna, Bonnie, Caroline," she trailed off and then with her free hand, she reached for one of his, Elijah allowing her to proceed. "Unless something like a GPS chip has been placed in me without my knowing; that's the only way they can contact me."

Deliberately she pressed the item into his hand, holding his gaze throughout, ignoring the sensations that the simple brushing of their fingertips sent through her body.

"Before we go anywhere, I must feed."

Elena nodded, following mechanically.

"Oh and Elena? Grab that pesky dagger, would you? We can't have that falling into the wrong hands."

Wordlessly, Elena complied with the request, further assisting Elijah with gathering the diaries from the house, the brunette not bothering to question or check to see if Elijah had pilfered part of the blood stash from the basement.

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Note: I can't absolutely promise that updates are going to come swiftly but I will try to update in a timely manner. I also wanted to say thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts. I can't express how much that means to me.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena was silent, sitting in the passenger's seat of her own SUV while Elijah drove to wherever it was they were going. They hadn't spoken much since leaving the boarding house, Elijah having replenished his weakened state from the stash of blood bags in the basement.

Well, maybe the silence was for the best.

At least this way, Elena wouldn't risk saying something stupid or possibly provoke Elijah's anger, the brunette fully realizing that she was walking a very fine line with the Original.

Maybe she couldn't read him like an open book, but she also wasn't blind, his body language telling her enough while they continued to drive out of Mystic Falls. Elena glanced sideways briefly, but Elijah's attention was set forward, left hand calmly griping the steering wheel while the right rested lightly on his thigh.

"We will arrive soon," Elijah spoke, voice betraying nothing as he reached into a pocket of the tattered suit jacket, producing her previously surrendered phone. "Perhaps you would like to call your friends?"

"If that's okay," Elena said, hesitantly taking the item but not too hesitantly in case he changed his mind.

Elijah barely shrugged in acknowledgement, lapsing back into silence as they continued on the open road. Then, they were turning onto a long dirt road, Elena toying with her phone instead immediately calling. She noticed that the item had been turned off, preventing any sort of tracking.

"Wow," Elena whispered as the vehicle pulled up to a stop in front of an imposing home, timeless in its elegance and entirely appropriate for someone like Elijah.

"We won't be here long," Elijah mentioned, turning off the SUV and removing the key from the ignition. "I am stopping long enough to obtain a suitable change of clothing."

Elena's forehead furrowed lightly, "And then what?"

Elijah only got out of the vehicle, Elena doing the same and then following him up the stairs to the front porch. "I'm afraid we won't have time for a house tour, but do make yourself comfortable while we're here, Elena."

With that he opened the front door, Elena entering first and finding herself in a modest foyer, on either side were sitting rooms while another hallway linked the foyer to the back of the house. A staircase, leading both up and down, was near to the hallway, Elijah heading up the stairs without a word.

Once she was alone, Elena went to the nearest sitting room, turning her phone on while she paced.

Drawing her lower lip between her teeth, Elena narrowed down her choices as to whom she should call, automatically ruling out the Salvatore brothers, Bonnie and her brother.

She couldn't explain to Jenna without giving too much away.

And she wasn't sure if she wanted to burden Caroline.

A tiny sigh escaping her, Elena made her choice, hoping that it was the right one while she waited for Alaric to answer.

The concern and anger she expected, but Elena pleaded to Alaric to just let her speak; the teenager quickly explaining that yes, she was with Elijah and that yes, she knew what she was doing…. Even if that last part was an outright lie.

"Alaric please, just trust me."

"You know they're going to be pissed."

"I know that and I'll deal with them, okay? But just let them know that this was _my _choice. We're going to have to return to Mystic Falls anyway if Damon still has the moonstone."

And as far as she knew that much was true, Elena not saying much else in case Elijah was ready; just bidding Alaric goodbye when she turned to see the Original standing in the entryway to the sitting room.

"I do not have much in the way of food that would be suitable for you," Elijah said, adjusting the sleeves of his clean suit jacket, "however, we can stop somewhere."

"Thank you," Elena replied, turning off the phone as she walked towards him, intending to hand it back to Elijah before he reached down, taking her free hand in his and covering the phone.

"We will also acquire clothing for you, of course."

Elena only nodded, exiting the sitting room mutely, the brevity of what she had done finally sinking in. She had more or less turned her back on the people who were trying to help her and trying to protect her to go to a destination unknown with one of the most powerful beings in existence. And she had done this all willingly.

If anything else happened to her at this point, she only had herself to blame.

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Yes I know it's been awhile but I'm hoping to get this story on track. I have a good idea of where I want to go with it, but we'll see how everything plays out. I thank you in advance if you're still reading and thank you again to anyone who has favorited and/or reviewed.


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